bookrandom Chapter 2151: Treat others in their own way.
Chapter 2151: Treat others in their own way.
The tent fell silent for a moment, with only the crackling of the candlelight.
Chu Xuan pondered for a moment, his expression softening: "What you say makes sense, sir. So, in your opinion, how should we respond? Continue to apply pressure, or..."
"No need to respond."
Su Tingmei closed her feather fan, her smile revealing a deeper meaning: "He performs his play, we watch ours. Has Prince Xuan forgotten our true purpose in besieging Black Stone Fortress?"
A glint flashed in Chu Xuan's eyes: "Hold them back and prevent them from threatening His Majesty's northern expedition against the Tang Dynasty."
"Exactly."
Su Tingmei got up, walked slowly to the tent entrance, and lifted the tent flap.
Outside the tent, the night sky over the northern frontier was ablaze with stars, and the silhouette of Black Stone Fortress resembled a lurking beast in the darkness.
"Gongsun Yi wanted to use these harsh words to maintain morale and to show us that they were tough nuts to crack, so let him put on a show."
He turned around, his black robe fluttering slightly in the night wind: "The current stalemate is actually most advantageous to our army."
"We besiege the city without attacking, and each day we only consume a small amount of food and arrows. Meanwhile, inside Blackstone Fortress, the granaries are dwindling daily, and morale is declining by a hair's breadth."
"Time is on our side."
Chu Xuan walked to his side, gazing at the lonely city silent in the night: "But if this drags on too long, what will happen to His Majesty..."
"His Majesty's side is the real battlefield."
Su Tingmei's voice suddenly became solemn: "If we win this battle, with an army of 300,000 against Tang, the Central Plains will be unified, and the Great Chu Kingdom's reign can be extended by a hundred years."
"At that time, with the prestige of unifying the Central Plains, we will return to the northern frontier. Will Black Stone Fortress still be a problem?"
He turned around and looked directly at Chu Xuan: "Our mission is to stay here."
"Let Gongsun Yi not dare to leave the city, let the Scorpion Khan not dare to come to our aid, and let the waters of the Northern Frontier remain undisturbed during our siege."
"If we can do this, it will be a great achievement."
Chu Xuan took a deep breath, the chill of the northern night wind making his mind even clearer: "I understand, so what's next..."
"Next,"
Su Tingmei sat back down in the shadows, unfolded her feather fan again, and remained composed.
"Continue to shoot out surrender letters every day, continue to cook when the wind is favorable, and continue to let the garrison of Blackstone Castle smell the aroma of meat while drinking thin porridge."
"The key to winning hearts and minds lies in perseverance. As for Gongsun Yi's claim about eating human bones..."
He chuckled lightly: "Let him say what he wants. When the city's food supplies are exhausted, the warhorses are all slaughtered, the tree bark is stripped bare, and the wild vegetables are all dug up, then we'll see whether he really intends to eat human bones or open the city gates."
The candlelight inside the tent suddenly flickered.
Chu Xuan remained silent for a long time before finally nodding slowly: "As you say, sir."
He walked to the desk, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and quickly wrote several lines on a blank military order. Then he summoned his personal guards:
"Order all battalions: Starting tomorrow, surrender letters will still be shot in as usual, but the content will be slightly changed—write that those who surrender will not be killed, and those who resist will have their horses slaughtered on the day the city falls to feed the army."
The guards obeyed and left.
Upon hearing this, Su Tingmei paused slightly with her feather fan, a hint of approval flashing in her eyes:
"Prince Xuan's move is brilliant; he uses their own methods against them."
Chu Xuan put down his pen and looked out at the starry sky: "I just wonder how the battle is going in Jianghuai for His Majesty right now..."
"Your Majesty is wise and mighty, General Li is a master strategist, and General Yue is the bravest in the army."
Su Tingmei's voice drifted through the night: "We will simply wait here for good news."
The tent flaps were drawn, shutting out the cold winds of the northern frontier.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away on the Jianghuai Plain, war raged.
Two massive armies that would determine the fate of the Central Plains had already begun their final battle on that land.
The stalemate in the north and the bloody battle on the south front.
The great Chu dynasty's ambition to unify the world hinged on these two seemingly distant yet closely connected battle lines.
But at least tonight, in the Chu army camp outside Blackstone Fortress, the commander-in-chief and his strategists have reached a consensus:
and so on.
Wait until the food is exhausted, until the morale of the army collapses, until the emperor sends the victory report that will secure the dynasty.
Time will tell.
Two days later.
At midnight, only one oil lamp was lit in the study of the Black Stone Fortress General's Mansion.
The lamplight was dim, casting two long, swaying shadows on the wall.
Gongsun Yi removed his heavy armor from the daytime and sat behind a desk, wearing only a dark brown casual robe.
He held a warm, smooth jade pendant shaped like a wolf's head in his hand—a token bestowed upon him by the Khan when he was appointed Grand General, which he had never parted with for ten years.
"General." A deep voice came from outside the door.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and a lean, sharp-looking middle-aged general bowed as he entered.
He wore light leather armor, with a curved sword hanging at his waist, the turquoise inlaid on the scabbard gleaming faintly in the dim light.
Huyan Ying is the leader of the Scorpion Clan and Blood Eagle Clan, and one of Gongsun Yi's most trusted confidants.
"Sit down." Gongsun Yi pointed to the futon opposite the table.
Huyan Ying knelt down as instructed, his back ramrod straight, a habit ingrained from his years of life on horseback.
He waited quietly, his gaze sweeping over the map of northern Xinjiang spread out on the table.
Black Stone Fortress was heavily surrounded by cinnabar, and the surrounding area was densely marked with the deployment points of the Chu army and the Youzhou army, a shocking sight.
"Chief Huyan, how many days has the siege lasted?" Gongsun Yi suddenly asked.
"Including today, it's been six days."
"How long can the grain stored in the granaries last?"
Huyan Ying was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice: "If the current rations are maintained, it will last at most twenty-five days."
"If the Chu army continues to exert pressure and morale declines, we may have to open the granaries ahead of schedule to quell the unrest, which would leave us with only twenty days."
"The 20th!"
Gongsun Yi repeated the number, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table: "Twenty days later, if there are no reinforcements or any change in the situation, what will become of the forty thousand soldiers and civilians in this city?"
Huyan Ying did not answer.
Some questions don't need answers at all.
A brief silence fell over the study, broken only by the faint crackling of the burning lamp wick.
The heavy footsteps of night patrol soldiers could be heard outside the window, approaching and then receding again, their rhythm so regular it was unsettling.
"I've been thinking about this for the past two days."
Gongsun Yi spoke slowly, his voice exceptionally clear in the silence: "What exactly do Chu Xuan and Su Tingmei want?"
He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack.
The night wind from the northern frontier swept in, causing the lamplight to flicker: "They surrounded the city but did not attack, only shooting out letters of surrender each day, and only lighting fires to cook when the wind was favorable."
"This is not a siege, it's a test of endurance. They want to exhaust our food supplies, break our morale, and wait until we open the city gates ourselves."
Huyan Ying nodded: "This humble general feels the same way. The Chu army cannot afford the cost of a strong attack. They still have a major battle to fight in the south, so they are using the least effort to starve us out."
"Exactly."
Gongsun Yi turned around, the reflection of the lamplight dancing in his eyes: "So if we continue to hold out, it may seem that we are defending the city, but in reality we are following their strategy."